Arthur C. Vailas

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Arthur C. Vailas, Ph.D. has been President of Idaho State University since July 2006.

Vailas was born in 1951 in Manchester, New Hampshire. He received his B.S. in exercise physiology magna cum laude in 1973 from the University of New Hampshire, where he played football. Six years later he received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa with an area of emphasis in connective tissue physiology. He completed his three-year National Institutes of Health post-doctoral research program as a research fellow in orthopedic surgery and biochemistry. He conducted postdoctoral work there in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

From 1982 to 1988 Vailas was an assistant and then associate professor in the Department of Physiological Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Vailas moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988, filling positions that included associate dean for research and development in the School of Education in 1994; professor of surgery, division of orthopedic surgery, College of Medicine; professor of kinesiology and chair of the department in 1993, School of Education; professor, department of poultry science, College of Agriculture; and professor and director of the Biodynamics Laboratory.

In 1997, Vailas held dual positions of Vice Chancellor for Research and Intellectual Property Management of the University of Houston System and Vice President for Research of the University of Houston after two years after joining the university as Vice Provost for graduate studies and a professor and distinguished chair in biology and biochemistry. Additionally, he received a joint appointment as a professor of mechanical engineering.

Vailas has served on scientific panels and boards for NASA and the National Institutes of Health.He is the author of numerous scientific articles and publications. He has been principal investigator of federal grants, and has served on national boards and advisory groups. He received a congressional appointment to serve on the Mickey Leland national board on air toxics, and has been a consultant to many national health-care-related businesses and institutions.

Vailas's many awards include the International Scholars Award from the University of Houston, and Outstanding Science Achievement Awards from NASA for COSMOS #2229, U.S.-Russian Space Program; and the U.S.-Russian Life Sciences Mission COSMOS #2044. Elected to the NASA Life Sciences Advisory Subcommittee, he served as study section chairman for the American Institute for the Biological Sciences on space biology.